Too Much
by Purplestripe66
Summary: PRiS: Karone/Ashley This takes place after "The Rangers' Leap of Faith," but "Dark Specter's Revenge" never happened. I know that it picks up from a random point, but things will be explained later on.
1. Cookies and Coco

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers nor do I make and money off of this fic. I do own a geology book, however, not the content...

A/N: Yes, I know I misspelled "coco." I think it looks cuter that way. :P

Ashley sighed, sitting hunched over the geology book. Two chapters to go...' She still had two more chapters to study for her exam on Monday. She'd honestly never thought that she'd find herself studying on a Saturday night, but she had done so poorly on the last exam, she couldn't afford to leave this one up to one night of late night cramming.

She had really been paying attention during class this time, but, she was sure that she had last time too, more or less.

A soft knock came at the door. "Come in," Ashley said lifting her head, surprised at how tired she sounded.

The door slid open and Karone came in carrying a tray, "Hey, I thought you might need a study break."

Ashley looked at the two mugs of hot coco and big plate of chocolate chip cookies, tempted to accept the offer. "I can't," she said reluctantly, not turning back to her book.

Karone didn't listen. She set the tray down on the bed and walked over to the desk, closing Ashley's book. "Hey," Ashley protested. She turned to open the book back to where she had left off. But Karone kept her hand firmly on the closed cover.

"Come on. You need a break. You've been studying all day."

"It's only been a few hours."

"Do you know what time it is?"

Ashley glanced at her watch, her eyes widening when she saw the time, "It's after ten? How did that happen?"

Karone smiled, taking Ashley's hand. "Come on," she said dragging her to the bed. She handed her a cup of coco, settling herself further on the bed, and picking up the second herself.

Ashley held the mug up with both hands, breathing in the warm, chocolatey sent of the coco. It suddenly occurred to her how very sleepy she was. She moaned softly, taking a sip of the coco, and leaning back against the pillows. Ashley always kept extra pillows on her bed. She liked it that way.

She watched Karone take a cookie and nibble on it. "C'mere," Ashley held out her hand, inviting Karone to snuggle up beside her on the bed. They didn't talk, just lay there for a while, sipping coco, and eating cookies.

"I should probably get back to studying," Ashley muttered after a while. Karone smiled at her. It was obvious Ashley was barely awake, and had no intention of getting up any time soon. She took the other girl's half empty mug and her own, and managed to put them both on the night table without disturbing Ashley.

Carefully, she slid down a little on the bed, making herself more comfortable. She wrapped her arms around Ashley and sighed contently. Closing her eyes, she felt herself start to doze off too.


	2. Wildflowers

Disclaimer: The Power Rangers are not mine and no profit is being made here.

Ashley woke up to find herself nestled in Karone's arms. She smiled, snuggling up closer to her. Suddenly, she jolted straight up in bed.

"What's wrong?" Karone asked so quickly, and with no trace of sleepiness, that if Ashley had thought about it she would have wondered if Karone had been sleep at all.

"My test," Ashley said looking around the room, trying to decide what she should do first.

"Is tomorrow," Karone said smiling. She rubbed Ashley's back soothingly. "Why are you so nervous about this?"

Ashley sighed, readjusting herself on the bed so that she was facing Karone. She watched her hands as she folded and refolded a small section of her bright yellow blanket. She had brought it up to the ship when she realized that she was spending more nights here than at home. "I did really badly in my last test in this class. My parents, especially my dad, they- they just expect a lot from me."

"But you're a Power Ranger. Isn't that enough?"

Ashley shook her head, "They say that I can't put that on a college application, and that that's what's really important. They're right," she added, somewhat awkwardly.

"Isn't protecting the planet more important than college?"

"Not to my parents."

"I'm sure they just want what's best for you."

"I know," Ashley said hesitantly. "It's just so much pressure sometimes."

They sat quietly for a few minutes "Come on, "Karone said suddenly, sliding around Ashley, and out of bed.

"But-" Ashley started to protest.

"You've studied enough," Karone told her. "Ashley, you're smart. If you keep studying, you're just going to exhaust yourself."

Ashley hesitated. She knew Karone was right, but, "Come on," Karone said, interrupting her thoughts. "I expect you to be ready in ten minutes," she told her giving Ashley a quick kiss and left the room before Ashley could object.

* * *

Just as promised, Karone was back in exactly ten minutes. "Just a sec," Ashley called in response to the soft knock at the door. She put her hair up in a scrunchi and, taking one last look in the mirror, hurried over to the door.

Her smile widened when she saw that Karone was wearing the purple sun dress she had bought her, "Are you ready?"

"Ready. Where are we going?" Ashley asked, taking Karone's hand as they made their way down the corridor.

"I made us a picnic," Karone said as they got in the Megalift. "I thought we could hike up to Pine Creek and have an early lunch."

Ashley grinned. Karone always came up with the best date ideas. "That sounds great," she told her sincerely. She knew that Karone wasn't entirely comfortable in crowds yet, and that she felt guilty about it.

They stepped off the Megalift, walking to the Workbay. Karone headed towards the Synthetron. Ashley watched her pull out two apples and hand one to her.

"Ready?" Karone nodded, picking up the basket sitting next to the Synthetron. "DECA, teleport us to Angel Grove Lake." Almost immediately, twin streaks of yellow and purple light appeared around them and quickly vanished again, revealing the quiet scene of the lake on a Sunday morning.

Ashley had wondered why Karone's teleportation streak was purple. Non rangers almost always had neutral colors. She wondered if it had anything to do with the powers she had had as Astronema.

The term 'hike' was a great exaggeration. The path up to the creek was very well maintained and was rarely more than a gentle slope. They took their time walking up, more than willing to stop and admire the scenery every so often. It was mid March and most of the wildflowers were already in bloom. Ashley decided to stop by each bunch of flowers and gradually made a rather large bouquet of purple and yellow flowers.

They chatted light-heartedly about spring, food, clothes, and potential activities for future dates. Only once or twice did Ashley suspect that Karone was deliberately steering the conversation away from certain topics that might ruin the mood.

They had found their own special spot by the creek. Getting there was probably the most most difficult part of the hike. There was a shallow part of the stream with perfectly positioned stepping stones to cross to the other side.

There was no trail there, and there was a significant amount of vegetation. Ashley crossed the stream first and took Karone's hand, helping her hop to the other bank.

It took them about another ten minutes at their leisurely pace to get to their clearing. It was the perfect spot. There were a couple of boulders at the base of a large tree that grew just a few feet away from the water. Wildflowers and a couple more small trees surrounded a nice sized clearing. The ground was covered with just enough small rocks to keep the dust from getting kicked up while still making it easy to walk.

Karone placed the basket next to the tree and walked over to the creek. Ashley sat down on one of the boulders, watching her and fiddling idly with the flowers. It had surprised her how much Karone had taken to nature. Ashley wondered if it was because it reminded her of her childhood or if it was because she hadn't been exposed to it for so long.

She waited for Karone to come over before opening the basket, carefully placing the flowers next to her. "Your planet's beautiful," she said carefully positioning herself on the other boulder.

Ashley smiled, starting to take out the contents of the basket. There were a couple of neatly wrapped sandwiches, some long, green vegetables that she could never remember the name of, a couple bottles of juice, and some cookies. She neatly arranged the food between them, with the bouquet of flowers in the center.

After they ate, Ashley idly started braiding the flowers into a wreath. "What are you doing?" Karone asked after watching her for a few minutes.

"You'll see," Ashley said smiling.

Karone leaned back against the tree, watching the sunlight dance through the leaves as a light wind picked up. Her life had changed so much in the past month. Then she had still been Astronema, Princess of Darkness. She closed her eyes, feeling the breeze on her face. She couldn't imagine going back to that life now. She didn't know how she could ever have been happy.

She winced a little as a thought of Ecliptor came to her mind. She still didn't know what had happened to him, she hadn't seen or heard from him since that day on Yutoba. Karone opened her eyes, staring up at the leaves. She looked back at Ashley, who was still busy with her flowers. She hadn't told anyone how she felt. She had no idea if they could understand. And she wasn't willing to ruin everything she had now.


	3. Nightmares

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or make any money off of my fics.

A/N: Well, you didn't think it could stay fluffy forever, did you?

Karone took the flower wreath off her head and smiled, placing it on the dresser. She and Ashley had both insisted on wearing them all day. The flowers had wilted quite a bit already, and she knew that they'd probably be dry by morning.

Ashley was in her room studying again. Karone had let her go only if she promised she would go to bed by 10:30. "DECA, what time is it?" she asked, wondering if she should go check up on her yet.

"It is 10:27 in Angel Grove. Ashley has asked me to tell you that she has already gone to bed," DECA told her.

Karone smiled, "Thanks DECA." She wasn't quite ready to sleep yet, but she changed into her purple pajama pants and tank top, and picked up the telekinesis ball Andros had given her.

She had never used her telekinesis as Astronema. She hadn't even known that she was able to. It had surprised her when she had actually been able to move the multicolored ball with her mind. Andros had offered to help her with it not long after she had come here.

Karone sat down on her bed, tossing the sphere up and watching it expand. She let it hover in place for a while before giving it a gentle nudge with her mind.

She gasped suddenly as an image of Darkona flashed in her mind. She lost her concentration, causing the ball to fall to the ground. Karone sighed, resting her head in her hands. The memories of that day still haunted her.

Karone took a deep breath, standing up to retrieve the telekinesis ball. "Are you all right Karone?" DECA asked.

"I'm fine DECA," she told the AI softly, sitting back down on the bed, telekinesis ball in her hands.

"Perhaps you should tell Andros about your nightmares," DECA suggested, not for the first time.

"No DECA," Karone said softly. "I'm fine. I don't want him to worry." Only the AI knew how often she actually woke up in the middle of the night. Usually, when she slept with Ashley she was able to sleep though the night.

For someone who had spent most of he life alone, she was surprised how quickly she had not only started to enjoy the rangers company, but she had actually grown dependent on it.

She tossed the ball back up in the air half-heartedly, letting it spin in place. Things hadn't been so bad when she had first come here. She had been so focused on adjusting to her new life that she hadn't had time to think about what had happened to her, or worse, everything that she had done in her time as Astronema.

Those nightmares were the worst. She had done terrible things, she knew that. Some days, she felt sick thinking about it. How could she have been so wrong about everything? She knew that she didn't really deserve this. She didn't deserve Ashley, or her brother. She didn't deserve to be happy.

Karone didn't know how the rangers could have forgiven her so easily. Of course, they didn't know half the terrible things she had done.

Karone stood up, pulling the ball out of the air, and swallowed hard. She couldn't afford to dwell on this. She really didn't want her friends to know how she felt. It would just hurt them. She had already had one break down a couple weeks ago, when she had spent almost three days in her room crying. Karone tossed the ball onto her bed and headed for the Workbay.

Andros was there working on some scanning equipment when she arrived. "Karone, I thought you were asleep," he said looking up as soon as she came in.

Karone gave him a courtesy smile, something she had learned to do rather quickly to avoid being asked if she was ok. "I couldn't sleep," she said, walking over to the Synthetron. "I thought I'd get a snack. Do you want anything?"

Andros looked like he was about to shake his head, but then changed his mind, "Maybe some Tefer Tea." Karone brought his drink and her own fruit salad over to the small table a moment later. "Thanks," Andros said taking a careful sip.

Karone watched him, poking at her salad. She felt better, siting here with Andros. He had trusted her from the moment he realized she was his sister. He had always believed there was good in her, even when she had been so sure that there wasn't. She knew how lucky she was to have him. And that was enough to make her feel better.

Even if she didn't deserve it, she had people who loved her. And she had to stay strong, for them.


	4. Hidden Meanings

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, any of the characters, or anything related to them, and I do not make any money off of them. Did anyone not know this?

A/N: Sorry the update took so long, but rl's been a pain. Thanks to Challon for the help with finally finishing this, and to my beta, who I don't think I've mentioned yet...(oops).

* * *

Andros was slouched in his chair, staring at the view screen when Karone stepped out of the Megalift. She glanced up at the screen. "Andros, what is that?" she asked, wondering how the strange symbols scrolling across the screen weren't the the first think she noticed.

She heard the Megalift doors open just then and TJ, Carlos and Cassie came in. "What's going on?" TJ asked.

"I don't know," Andros said answering both of their questions at once. He didn't bother looking away from the screen. "DECA intercepted a transmission to the Dark Fortress."

Karone stiffened, "From where?"

She saw Andros shake his head, "I don't know. Presumably from Dark Specter's ship. DECA's trying to trace it now."

"Is it encoded?" Cassie asked.

Karone walked around the consules to get a closer look at the screen. She didn't hear Andros' response. The characters seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place them. "DECA, what language is that?" she asked. She glanced over her shoulder, noticing the other rangers staring at her. It took her a moment to realize that she had sounded like Astronema just then.

"There are Enovian, Malake, and Hardes characters as well as some I am unable to identify. However, their placement does not fit any known language patterns."

Karone watched the screen for a moment longer. "Andros, I know what this is," she said, making a conscious effort to soften her voice.

Andros sat up straight, "What?"

"It was a code Dark Specter used. Ecliptor used to translate it for me.

"Can you read any of it?" TJ asked hopefully.

Karone shook her head, still staring at the screen. "I might be able to figure it out," she said quietly after a minute.

"Really?" Andros asked.

"I'm not sure. But I can try."

* * *

Andros sat down next to Zhane in the grass, looking up at the clouds. "Any luck?" Zhane asked after a minute.

Andros shook his head, "Karone kicked me out. She said I was distracting her. What are you doing here?"

"Just thinking. You know, this was where we had our date." Andros raised an eyebrow at him. "How is it that you went nuts when you thought I liked Ashley, but you didn't say anything when Karone actually started dating her?"

"Karone's my sister," Andros said simply. "You should have known better."

"I didn't like her!" Zhane protested.

Andros grinned. Zhane sighed in mock exasperation, lying back on the grass. "What happened between you two?" he asked after a moment.

"You know what happened."

"No, I really don't," Zhane told him, sitting up again. "None of us do."

Andros sighed, "It wasn't anything really. We just," Andros trailed off.

"Just what?" Zhane wouldn't let this go.

"We just realized we wanted different things."

Zhane looked at him awkwardly.

"I thought you wanted her."

"So did I."

Zhane waited for Andros to continue, but he didn't, "Andros, you two are as different as two people can get. But you knew that when you met her. And you certainly knew when you asked her out. What could have changed?"

"Nothing. That's it."

Zhane stared at him, completely lost for a minute, "What?"

"When I met her, she reminded me of you!"

Zhane got it then, "Oh..."

"I wasn't jealous of you, I was jealous of her. And... I was angry at myself. For," Andros sighed.

Zhane watched his hands awkwardly, "Well, you know, I didn't blame you. It's not like we were dating or anything."

"We said forever. Two years-"

"Is a lot when you're by yourself. I can't even imagine Andros."

"All rangers report to the Bridge," DECA said suddenly.

* * *

"Hey," Ashley said softly, sliding into the chair next the Karone. "How's it going?"

Karone sighed, leaning back, "I don't think I can do this. It's designed to be complicated. Too complicated for humans to figure out. That's why I always had Ecliptor do it." She shook her head. "Even with DECA's help..." she trailed off.

"Hey," Ashley said standing up and walking behind her. She rested her hands on Karone's shoulders and started to rub then gently, "You're doing fine. We wouldn't be able to figure this out at all if it weren't for you."

Karone smiled a little at that, "Well, there is one thing I'm sure of," she pressed a few keys displaying one word on the monitor, "Zordon."

Ashley looked up at the screen, "Zordon? Does this say where he is?"

Karone shook her head, "I don't know, maybe."

Ashley looked at the screen for another second, "DECA, ask the others to come to the Bridge."


End file.
